Travels into the red centre of Australia

Wolfe Creek Crater

We turn off the Tanami Road to visit the Wolfe Creek crater. A meteorite hit the earth here millions of years ago, shattering our planet’s crust like a stone hitting the surface of a pool of water. The impact site is apparently the second largest in the world. It’s not famous for that now of course, but for a horror movie located here.

The road to the crater is lined with yellow flowering acacias as if it were an avenue of trees leading to a grand European house. The colours are delicious, the red road strewn with the fallen yellow flowers.

The walls of the crater tower above the car park. They too could come from a Grand Designs TV programme. Perfectly round clumps of silvery green spinifex grow up the crater, interspersed with yellow acacia bushes and lilac wild flowers. The vegetation glows against the smooth red and pink rocks. I decide to get my garden landscaped just like Wolfe creek…

We climb to the top while Richard readies his drone for aerial photography. The scent of the acacias is like a dusty sandalwood. The crater’s walls form a complete circle. Down below we see rings of different greens, as the native plants choose to grow on their preferred mineral earth. The ripples sent out so many years ago are frozen in time, circle within circle into the centre of impact. The garden below is lush. Water flows down the walls in the wet season forming rivers that meet and pool at the centre of impact. Even now we see an oasis of trees there and hear the distant call of birds.

We are brought back to the 21st century as Richard’s drone buzzes into life and flies at eagles’ height, far above us, capturing aerial photos of the site. The site is on too large a scale to be photographed any other way. Beryl has a brave attempt and masters the art of the panorama with her camera, helped by a kind traveller we name Neville the nomad. The brave man is travelling on to the Canning Stock Route alone. This is a rugged four wheel drive trail that is usually attempted in packs. Good luck Nev, we hope you make it.